Trip to “New” City Diner disappoints……..

Stingy Tipper has dined on several occasions at City Diner in the South Grand area of St. Louis and has always had a good overall S.E.R.V.I.C.E. experience.  Only recently did ST have an opportunity to try out their other location--still relatively new--on north Grand Avenue adjacent to the Fox Theatre.  Unfortunately, the service there was not up to par with that of the original venue, as evidenced by StingyTipper leaving only a 14% gratuity.

Upon entering the restaurant, the hostess was less than enthusiastic about our arrival (we appeared to have interrupted something that was more important to her than greeting us), seeming almost reluctant to seat ST’s party and wanting us to wait until we were “all together” before seating us in the nearly empty dining room.  Water service was only available after we requested it later on. Though our server was friendly and welcoming, he was unaware of the soup of the day and left our table to confer with the chef.  After serving the appetizers we ordered, he did not deliver serving plates nor condiments until we asked for them.  Checking back with us on our satisfaction with our meals or whether we needed something else was not a priority for this particular server.  It’s not that the server wasn’t responsive to our needs, he was; but it was only in a reactive way, not in a proactive fashion that anticipated our needs. 

What “saved” the experience (i.e., kept the tip from going below 14%) were the 2 threes (commendable) scored for the S.E.R.V.I.C.E. dimensions of Value (we felt we got our money’s worth) and Comfort (fun place to go and enjoy the street life on Grand Ave through the big picture windows.)   Though StingyTipper’s dinner-size salad entre was very satisfying, ST’s spouse complained about the day-old quality of the lettuce and vegetables found in her salad.       

Scoring Key

1 = Unsatisfactory    2 = Satisfactory    3 = Commendable

S.E.R.V.I.C.E. SCORE

Salutation                     =  1

Equity                            =  2

Responsiveness            =  2

Value                             =  3

Informed                       =  1

Comfort                         =  3

Experience                     =  2

            Total Score:                   14 = 14%

Gratuity Scoring Guidelines



                   "Stingy"                        7-10%          

                   "Not-too-Stingy"      11-15%               

                   "Gracious"                   16-21%